JP4083360B2 - Thermal analyzer - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a thermal analyzer.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Thermal analysis is a method for measuring changes in physical properties of a sample while changing the temperature. The temperature range is from a minus temperature range to about 1500 ° C. The measurement is performed by scanning the target temperature range at an appropriate rate of temperature rise (unit: ° C / min). The measurement time is determined by the temperature increase rate and the temperature range. The measurement time is usually several tens of minutes, but a long measurement may take several hours to several days. Since it is not necessary to operate the instrument during the measurement, it is rare that the user is monitoring the instrument throughout the measurement, and the user should be away from the laboratory where the instrument is located. Often do business.
[0003]
In such a use environment, when a measurement is interrupted due to some trouble during measurement, the user must perform the measurement again after canceling the trouble. However, since the user is often away from the device, the user may not immediately notice that a problem has occurred in the device. If the user leaves the device without knowing that the measurement has been interrupted, the time until the remeasurement is started is wasted. In addition, the measurement time is wasted when a trouble occurs that causes an abnormality in the control of the apparatus. Further, when measuring a sample that undergoes a melting reaction, if the measurement is continued beyond a certain set value, the melted sample often adheres to the sensor and destroys the sensor.
[0004]
Therefore, for more efficient measurement in thermal analysis, when an event occurs such as when a signal reaches a certain set value, measurement is completed, or a problem occurs in the device, it is performed in real time and regardless of where it is located It is necessary to inform the user of the situation.
Conventionally, in order to monitor a device at a remote location, (1) monitor the measurement status through the network (Japanese Patent Application No. 9-325024), and (2) stop the device when a dangerous error occurs. (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-19880), (3) There are techniques such as managing an apparatus using E-Mail (Japanese Patent Application No. 9-32950).
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the above conventional techniques have the following problems.
In the method (1) for monitoring the measurement status through the network, one user needs to monitor the status by operating the monitor periodically at the place where the monitor is located. If the user is not in a location with a monitor or forgets to monitor, it cannot be handled.
The method of stopping the apparatus when the error with the danger of the above (2) occurs can avoid the danger for the time being, but cannot notify the user that the apparatus has stopped in real time.
-With either of the methods (1) and (2), when a problem occurs in the system control part and the system itself stops, it cannot be detected.
-Since only the user who is measuring by either method (1) or (2) above monitors the device, it is not possible to inform a plurality of people in case of an emergency.
The method of monitoring the apparatus using E-Mail (3) has the same time lag until the mail is retrieved from the mail server in addition to the same problem as the method (1). That is, the user cannot be notified in real time.
[0006]
The problem to be solved by the present invention is that an event occurring in the apparatus is monitored by a part different from the system control, so that the detected contents can be detected in real time and whereabouts. It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal analysis apparatus capable of notifying one or a plurality of users with a message regardless of the above.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention has been developed to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its main constituent elements are a heating furnace, a temperature sensor, a physical quantity sensor, a measurement control means, a system control means, a storage device, an input / output device, and an event monitoring means. It comprises event control means, transmission information setting means, message transmission means, message reception means, user interface means, and a communication medium.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram in an embodiment of the present invention.
The measurement module 1 detects the heating, temperature, and physical quantity of the sample 2 in accordance with an instruction from the measurement station 10 and transmits data to the measurement station 10. The measurement module 1 performs its function by measurement control software processed by the central processing unit 7 and the storage device 8 in the measurement module 1 (the measurement control software performs tasks on the central processing unit 7 and the storage device 8 in the measurement module 1). This is hereinafter referred to as a measurement control task).
[0009]
The measurement station 10 controls the plurality of measurement modules 1 and receives data from the measurement modules 1 and performs thermal analysis analysis. The measurement station 10 performs its function by the system control software that is processed by the central processing unit 15 and the storage device 16 in the measurement station 10 (the system control software performs tasks on the central processing unit 15 and the storage device 16 in the measurement station 10). This is hereinafter referred to as a system control task).
[0010]
A user of the thermal analyzer places the sample 2 in the heating furnace 3 of the measurement module 1. A change in the temperature of the sample 2 is detected by the temperature sensor 4, and a change in the physical quantity of the sample 2 is detected by the physical quantity sensor 5. The temperature sensor 4 measures the temperature of the sample 2 or the vicinity of the sample 2. The physical quantity sensor 5 detects, for example, the heat flow rate to the sample 2 if DSC, the weight change of the sample 2 if TG, and the shape change of the sample 2 if TMA. The heating furnace 3, the temperature sensor 4, and the physical quantity sensor 5 are connected to an input / output interface 6 in the measurement module 1 and further connected to a central processing unit 7 in the measurement module 1. The temperature control of the heating furnace 3 is controlled by the central processing unit 7 in the measurement module 1 connected to the heating furnace 3 via the input / output interface 6 in the measurement module 1. The central processing unit 7 in the measurement module 1 is connected to the measurement station 10 through the communication interface 9 in the measurement module 1.
[0011]
The measurement station 10 monitors a user interface related to measurement, a control instruction to a plurality of measurement modules, data accumulation and measurement control tasks, and system control task events, and uses a so-called personal computer or workstation. The measurement station 10 functions by a general-purpose operating system such as Windows, Windows-NT, UNIX, etc., system control software, and event monitoring software. The event monitoring software has functions for event monitoring, message control, and transmission information setting. (The function of the event monitoring software operates as a task on the central processing unit 15 and the storage device 16 in the measurement station 10. Hereinafter, this is called an event monitoring task, a message control task, and a transmission information setting task).
[0012]
The central processing unit 15 in the measurement station 10 is connected to the plurality of measurement modules 1 by the communication interface 19 and the data transmission path 20 in the measurement station 10. The data transmission path 20 may be any general-purpose communication path such as RS-232C, GP-IB, or SCSI.
Between the measurement control task and the system control task, control information regarding operations, software / hardware error information, and measured signals are exchanged through the data transmission path 20. In accordance with the algorithm shown in FIG. 2, the event monitoring task periodically monitors information exchanged through the data transmission path 20 using a timer, the signal reaches a certain set value, the measurement is completed, an error has occurred, and the task is An event is detected when any information previously selected by the user, such as being stopped, is found. Since it operates independently of the measurement control task and the system control task, even if a failure occurs in each task, it can be monitored without being affected. If an event is detected, it is transmitted to the message control task (communication between each task may be any method such as DDE, IPC, and COM).
[0013]
The transmission information setting task has a function of setting a message transmission destination and an event to be monitored. A graphical user interface is provided, and the user arbitrarily selects a message transmission destination and an event to be monitored through the mouse 11, CRT 12, and keyboard 13 of the measurement station 10 (the algorithm of the transmission information setting task is shown in FIG. 3).
[0014]
As a message transmission destination, a personal computer or workstation 22 connected to the communication medium 21 or a pager 29 through a public line 28 can be selected.
When sending a message to a personal computer or workstation 22 connected to a communication medium 21 such as a local area network, a notification to a specific computer or a broadcast notification to all computers connected to the network is selected. it can. When transmitting to a specific computer, the IP address of the computer is designated as the destination, and when performing broadcast communication, the IP address reserved for broadcast communication is designated.
[0015]
When a message is transmitted to the pager 29 through the public line 28, the telephone number of the pager 29 is designated. When transmitting to the pager 29, it is possible to simultaneously transmit to a plurality of telephone numbers.
Selecting an event to monitor • One step of the temperature program is complete.
・ Measurement is complete.
• A software error occurred in the measurement module.
-A hardware error occurred in the measurement module.
• The measurement control task has stopped.
• A software error occurred at the measuring station.
-The system control task has stopped.
In addition to events related to the completion of processing and troubles, etc. ・ The signal has reached the set value.
・ The temperature of the heating furnace has reached the set value.
It is now possible to select events such as signals during measurement and the temperature status of the furnace as events. This takes into account that in thermal analysis, it is often desirable to grasp the measurement status from time to time.
The above set transmission information is stored in the storage device 16 of the measurement station 10.
[0016]
The message control task generates a message packet including a message corresponding to an event transmitted from the event monitoring task and a message destination according to the transmission information stored in the storage device 16 in the measurement station 10 according to the TCP / IP protocol ( The message control task algorithm is shown in FIG.
[0017]
When transmitting to a personal computer or workstation 22 connected to a communication medium 21 such as a local area network, the generated message packet is transmitted to the communication medium 21 through a network interface card (hereinafter abbreviated as NIC) 25. The communication medium 21 may be any general-purpose network such as Ethernet, FDDI, Token Ring, or the like.
[0018]
When transmitting to the pager 29, it is transmitted to the serial port 18 to which the modem 27 is connected. The modem 27 is connected to the public line 28 and transmits a message packet to the pager 29 through the public line 28. A technique for transmitting a message to the pager 29 through the public line 28 and displaying the message is a well-known technique.
[0019]
A so-called personal computer or workstation 22 is used as means for receiving message packets flowing in the communication medium 21 such as a local area network. The personal computer or workstation 22 fulfills its functions with a general-purpose operating system such as Windows, Windows-NT, UNIX, etc. and message reception software (message reception software operating on the personal computer or workstation 22 is hereinafter referred to as a message reception task). ). The message receiving task has a function of receiving a message packet flowing in the communication medium 21 and a function of a graphical user interface for displaying a message on the CRT 26. The message reception task always resides in the memory of the personal computer or workstation 22 and monitors the message packet flowing to the communication medium 21 through the NIC 25 of the personal computer or workstation 22 according to the algorithm of FIG. When a message packet addressed to itself arrives, the message packet is received. Then, a message is extracted from the message packet, and the message generated on the CRT 26 is displayed by a graphical user interface to notify the user of an event that has occurred in the apparatus.
[0020]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the present invention monitors an event independently of system control, and transmits a message to a remote computer or pager through a communication medium, so that the user is not conscious and regardless of location. In addition, the device status can be notified to the user in real time. This allows users to use the device more efficiently and safely.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an algorithm of an event monitoring task in the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an algorithm of a transmission information setting task in the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an algorithm of a message control task in the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a message reception algorithm in the embodiment of the present invention;
[Explanation of symbols]
1. . . Measurement module 2. . . Sample 3. . . 3. Heating furnace . . 4. Temperature sensor . . Physical sensor6. . . Input / output interface7. . . Central processing unit 8. . . Storage device 9. . . Communication interface 10. . . Measuring station 11. . . Mouse 12. . . CRT
13. . . Keyboard 14. . . Input / output interface 15. . . Central processing unit 16. . . Storage device 17. . . NIC
18. . . Serial port 19. . . Communication interface 20. . . Data transmission path 21. . . Communication medium 22. . . Personal computer or workstation 23. . . Central processing unit 24. . . Storage device 25. . . NIC
26. . . CRT
27. . . Modem 28. . . Public line 29. . . Pager

Claims (6)

Heating means for heating the sample;
A temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the sample or the vicinity of the sample; and
A physical quantity sensor that detects a physical quantity that changes with a temperature change of the sample;
Measurement control means for controlling the heating means, and transmitting signals detected by the temperature sensor and the physical quantity sensor to the system side through a data transmission path;
System control means connected to one or more of the measurement control means by the data transmission line, to control the measurement control means, and to receive a signal detected by the measurement control means and perform thermal analysis analysis;
A memory for storing a signal detected by the measurement control means and a command processed by the system control means;
An input / output device for inputting a user command to the system control means and outputting a result of thermal analysis analysis obtained;
Event monitoring means for periodically monitoring events occurring in the measurement control means and the system control means;
And message control means for transmitting the commander of the assembly and its message packet of a message packet including destination information of the message and the message to the corresponding signal event occurs receive events from the event monitoring means,
Transmission information setting means for setting information related to message transmission used by the message control means;
Message transmission means for transmitting the message packet received from the message control means in real time and to a transmission destination specified in the message packet via a communication medium ;
Message receiving means for extracting the message packet from the communication medium ;
A user interface means for displaying a message included in the message packet,
A thermal analysis apparatus comprising:   The thermal analysis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission information setting unit can select an event and a message transmission destination that are arbitrarily monitored by a user.   The thermal analysis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the message transmitting means is capable of transmitting a message to one or a plurality of message receiving means connected to a communication medium.   The thermal analysis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the message sending means can send a message to all message receiving means connected to a communication medium all at once (broadcast communication).   The thermal analysis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the message control means can generate a message that can be received by a pager, and can transmit the message to the pager through a public line.   2. The event monitoring unit operates independently of the system control unit and the measurement control unit, so that even when the system control unit and the measurement control unit stop functioning, the event monitoring unit can detect it in real time. Thermal analysis equipment.

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